Blur: Last News

Alex James was a rockstar of the nineties with his Britpop band Blur , crafting the soundtrack to a decade with the likes of Parklife and Girls & Boys. Life now is very different though, he tells OK! in an exclusive chat and walkabout his farm, as he spends his days tending to the land, feeding his army of five teenage children, and organising their annual on-site music festival.

Blur‘s Damon Albarn has shared his love for Arctic Monkeys‘ Alex Turner, saying he sings “a lot like him” on the band’s new album.Albarn and his band released new LP ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ this month, their first since 2015’s ‘The Magic Whip’.In a new interview with Musikexpress, Albarn has discussed his admiration for Turner, and how he influenced the Britpop heroes’ new album.Asked what he thinks of Turner, Albarn responded: “I think he’s great, I sing a lot like him on the new album.“You know our producer James Ford?” the frontman added. “He also worked with the Arctic Monkeys, I mentioned that to him.

Blur debuted new songs from their latest album ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘ along with a smattering of deep cuts and fan favourites at an intimate show at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith last night (Tuesday July 25). Check out footage and the setlist below.As announced earlier this month, the returning Britpop veterans took to the stage at the iconic London venue to perform their new album in its entirety, with the show also livestreamed online.The band took to the stage, backed by string quartet, with bassist Alex James lounging on a sofa and smoking as they eased into playing album opener ‘The Ballad’.

Blur have shared two new songs that are featured in the deluxe version of their latest LP ‘The Ballad Of Darren’. Listen to them below.The two new tracks, ‘The Rabbi’ and ‘The Swan’, both have that signature Blur sound with the latter being a mellow ballad and ‘The Rabbi’ being a bright, upbeat song.

Alex James has claimed that he found returning to Blur a lot more “relaxing” than parenting.In recent weeks, the 54-year-old musician has played countless shows across the UK and Europe – including two mammoth dates at Wembley Stadium – and released his ninth studio album with Blur, ‘The Ballad Of Darren’.However, according to a recent interview, the process of being back in the band is more manageable and laid-back than that of being a full-time parent.Appearing on the Parenting Hell podcast, he reflected on one of his previous quotes, where he claimed to have once spent “a million pounds on drugs and booze” while in the band, before going on to become a cheesemaker on his Cotswolds farm.“I kind of made it up and everyone believed it. But that is coming back to haunt me now,” he began.“Playing the bass in a rock band is the easiest thing, compared to parenting,” he added.

Blur performed a special gig at the BBC Radio Theatre for Radio 2 last night (July 18) – debuting new song ‘Barbaric’, showcasing their new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘ and inviting Phil Daniels on-stage for ‘Parklife’. Check out photos, footage and the setlist below.Following on from playing to 90,000 fans per night at their two massive Wembley Stadium shows last week, the Britpop heroes returned to the capital to perform a much more intimate show for just 300 lucky competition winners and media.

Blur‘s ‘Coffee & TV’ with his son, Harrison, and shared the results in a video shared with fans.The Inbetweeners actor, who played Jay Cartwright in the hit ’00s E4 sitcom, posted a clip of himself playing guitar and singing while his son shows off his skills on the bass.“We’ve had Blur fever in the house, but Harrison especially has found a new appreciation for Alex James [Blur bassist],” Buckley opens with in the video. He said that his son has been “working really hard on it”.The pair are then seen performing a short section from the 1994 hit, although only Harrison’s fingers are in view, noodling around the bass’ fretboard, while Buckley is seen fully on camera.A post shared by James Buckley (@buxtagram)But in a nod to the cheekiness of his character, Jay, he tells his son that he has a solo to show him at the end – and then pranks him by farting.“Harrison is brilliant, fart was impressive,” commented one fan on the Instagram video.

Blur’s Dave Rowntree has shared his opinion of Labour leader Keir Starmer in a new interview with NME.The Britpop veteran was taking part in the latest installation of NME’s Does Rock N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! series when he was asked to recall key moments from throughout his career, including his work in politics.Alongside his role as the drummer for Blur, Rowntree has also had a successful career in politics throughout much of the 21st Century – even going as far as to be elected as a Labour Councillor in Norfolk in 2017.Now, following his time in the role, which came to an end in 2021, the musician revealed his thoughts on current Labour leader, Keir Starmer.“Well, the test is at General Elections,” he began, discussing how well he thinks the figurehead is faring with the public. “If he wins the General Election, he’ll be widely touted as the most visionary Labour leader of modern times and will join the incredibly small number of Labour leaders who’ve gone on to become prime minister.”“If he loses, he’ll be regarded as an idiot who wrecked the Labour Party and achieved nothing,” he continued.

The Rise And Fall Of Britpop, explores Pulp’s impact on the scene alongside the rivalry between Blur and Oasis.Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley developed and present the podcast, which released its first four episodes last week (July 10), charting how Britpop rose to domination and its lasting effect on the UK music industry and pop culture.Episodes five to eight have now been made available to listen to on BBC Sounds, while the four new instalments will be broadcast on BBC 6 Music on July 19.The fifth episode will turn the lens away from the heavyweights of Blur and Oasis, focusing instead on Sheffield’s Pulp. The episode will tell the Jarvis Cocker-led band’s story, from recording in a semi-detached house in their hometown to writing songs in a tent the night before headlining Glastonbury.Episode six will return to catch up with Blur and Oasis who, at this point in time, were embroiled in a bitter chart battle in August 1995.

Blur frontman Damon Albarn has said that he believes the “road is clear” for an Oasis reunion.Back in May this year, Albarn said that he would “put money” on his band’s ’90s Britpop rivals reuniting.His comments came as Blur themselves began their own comeback tour in their hometown of Colchester.“I can guarantee they’re going to reform,” Albarn told The Sun of the chances of the Gallaghers putting their ongoing feud to bed. “In fact, I’ve put money on it.”In a new interview with Consequence, Albarn elaborated on his previous speculation about the possibility of a reunion.“Well, of course they were gonna.

Damon Albarn has shared that he believes Arctic Monkeys are “the last great guitar band,” adding that guitar music has gone “sterile”.While appearing on the Broken Record podcast, the Blur frontman discussed the state of guitar music. Though he said he remained optimistic about the future of the genre, Albarn believed it went through a rough patch before its reinvention.“I feel like there’s a bit more excitement about guitar music again, that can’t be a bad thing because it got so sterile.

Damon Albarn has revealed he is currently in the process of working on an opera as well as new music for Gorillaz.While appearing on the Broken Record Podcast, Albarn shared he is putting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1807’s The Magic Flute Part II to music for the first time. The 1791 original was an opera in two acts to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.“I’m doing an opera at the moment, using Goethe’s fragment he wrote about The Magic Flute Part II, which is fascinating,” he said.He continued: “You’ve heard of Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’? Well, Goethe, who is a contemporary of Mozart, wrote ‘Part II’ of that — the sequel — but it never got put to music.

NME about the new BBC podcast The Rise And Fall Of Britpop – and the chances of a similar cultural phenomenon taking place again today.Launched this week, the new eight-part series sees 6 Music DJ and former NME journalist Lamacq – along with fellow BBC DJ and former Evening Sessions co-host Jo Whiley – delve deep into the rise of UK indie in the ’90s with new interviews, archive interviews and more, featuring prominent artists from the scene.To get a feel for the new series, NME spoke to Lamacq about life before Britpop, how it wouldn’t have been possible without the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, the characters it gave us, and what caused the scene’s demise…Lamacq: “The start of the ‘90s was a little grim, grey and downtrodden. The rise of dance music through the late ‘80s and into the ‘90s was a reaction to that – and an escape from that. In musical terms, we had the shoegaze movement in the early ‘90s, which brought some quite good stuff.

Alex James has shared a video of him playing ‘Vindaloo’ at Wembley Stadium before Blur’s headline show at the venue.The 1998 football song was co-written by James, actor Keith Allen and bassist Guy Pratt. The track served as the band Fat Les’ (Alex James, actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst) debut single and was recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.James took to social media to share a video clip of him playing ‘Vindaloo’ on the Wembley Stadium stage during Blur’s soundcheck for their show on July 9.

Blur have announced details of a new special London gig, which will see them perform their new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ in full.The band will release the record – their first in eight years – on July 21 via Parlophone. They teamed up with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz) on the record, while the artwork was shot by celebrated British photographer Martin Parr.‘Blur present: The Ballad Of Darren’ will take place at London’s Eventim Apollo on July 25.

The Rise And Fall Of Britpop is developed by Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley, and explores how the genre first came into formation. Through the course of the series, the two hosts will also hold interviews with various musicians from across the scene, and delve into how the genre impacted both the music industry and UK pop culture.It also arrives on what the BBC is describing as the 30th anniversary of the genre, and seeks to not only detail how it rose to prominence but also dive into the archives and share never-before-heard stories from those who understand it best.“It’s easy to forget the environment Britpop landed in; The passing of power from Thatcher to Major, Britain embroiled in war and the Union Jack derided as a symbol of the far right.

Blur have wrapped up the first of their highly anticipated reunion shows at Wembley – see their full setlist below.The first of two shows at Wembley took place last night (July 8) and saw Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree turn back the clock to play an assortment of their biggest hits – including one track they haven’t played since 1994.The stunning 25-song setlist would see Blur play ‘Girls & Boys’, ‘Tender’, ‘The Universal’ and of course, ‘Song 2’. They also performed ‘Lot 105’ for the first time since 1994.They also performed ‘Under The Westway’ live for the first time since 2014.

Blur have cancelled their upcoming headline slot at a French festival due to an injury. The news comes just days ahead of their upcoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.The returning Britpop veterans were set to play the set at Festival Beauregard this Thursday (July 6) – but according to an update from the festival’s official Twitter page, the band will no longer be performing drummer Dave Rowntree has suffered a knee injury.“The bad news has just fallen: Blur will not be able to perform their concert in Beauregard,” the update began (translated from French).

Blur have announced the door times, curfew and stage times for their upcoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium next weekend (Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9). Check them out below.The Britpop heroes will be returning to the capital to play two consecutive nights at London’s Wembley Arena next week.

Damon Albarn has recalled the first time he showed his bandmates the demos for Blur’s upcoming album, and admitted he only wanted Graham Coxon to be in the studio at first.The singer-songwriter was speaking as part of a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, when he recalled what it was like reuniting with Blur and starting work on their new album, ‘The Ballad Of Darren’.According to Albarn, he began writing the demos for the new tracks before he gathered his bandmates together, but felt reluctant to show all of them at the same time.“When I finished the demos and I felt I’d got something I’m excited about, I got everyone into a studio in January this year. I just sort of sat them down and I said, ‘Right. This is what I’ve got.

Blur have announced that Sleaford Mods and Phil Daniels will be the latest acts joining them at their upcoming shows at Wembley Stadium.The long-awaited shows are set to take place on Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9, and come ahead of the band’s upcoming ninth studio album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ — set for release on July 21 via Parlophone and Warner (pre-order here).The first of the two new acts joining the bill is Nottingham post-punk band, Sleaford Mods. Announced today (June 13), the duo — comprised of Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn — will join Damon Albarn and co for their Saturday show.Now sold-out, other acts supporting the Britpop legends at the Saturday gig include English singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap.Paul Weller, the second of the newly announced artists joining the bill, will perform at both the Saturday and Sunday shows in the capital.